


Merlin Short Fic

by mabyn



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, First Time, Fluff, M/M, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-07
Updated: 2014-03-05
Packaged: 2018-01-03 21:19:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1073164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mabyn/pseuds/mabyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of Merlin short fic and drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Enchanted Mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin thought enchanting the mistletoe would be a good idea. Then everything went wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Holiday Bingo.

"I changed my mind."

"What do you have to fear, Gwen? I'll enchant the mistletoe. Anyone standing near it will be irresistible." Merlin waggled his eyebrows. "You walk by just as Leon arrives and _boom_ , his heart will be yours—at least for the moment."

Gwen bit her lip. "It's a bit of a trick though, isn't it?"

Merlin handwaved her protest. "It'll just help break the ice. To make him fall in love—that part is up to you." 

*

The servants were kindling a great fire in the hearth when Merlin entered the hall and surveyed the ornate decorations for Camelot's annual Yule celebration with approval. It was a display worthy of a great kingdom, and the prince would be proud indeed. He swiped a piece of cheese from the long table bearing piles upon piles of rich food, and realised from the sound of Arthur's voice booming from the courtyard below that he had only a few minutes left to hang Gwen's mistletoe before the room would be filled with every last noble in the land.

Beside the hearth, the wall receded into an intimate nook that would be perfect for a lover's kiss, obscured but not so private as to discomfort Gwen. There Merlin hastily strung up the green bough dotted with white berries, and murmured a quiet enchantment to complete his task. Now all that was left to do was help Gwen overcome her nerves.

"You _begged_ me to do it," Merlin reminded her. Leon was speaking with Percy a few feet away. "It's now or never." 

"Yes, but I've thought about it and—besides, my hair's all wrong and my dress is too plain and—"

"Come on." Merlin guided Gwen by the elbow to the mistletoe, but once they were almost upon it, she dragged her heels. 

"I'll look a fool," Gwen protested. She tried to fight Merlin off without making a scene and had very little success. People were starting to notice. Across the room, Arthur raised an eyebrow and began to make his way toward them. 

Merlin lowered his voice to a whisper. " _Gwen!_ " 

"What?" she said, as if she had no idea why he was bothering her. 

"You know what."

She gave him a little push. That's what started it.

"Just put your—"

"I swear to the gods, Merlin—"

"—no big—"

"—thrown in the dungeon—"

"—most beautiful woman—"

"—your hands off—"

" _Oof!!_ " they cried out in unison as Merlin lost his footing in the scuffle, knocked Gwen clear into the meat pie, and found himself suddenly perched beneath the enchanted bough himself. 

"Rats," Merlin said, rubbing his elbow where he'd slammed it against the wall. "Gwen, how could you—"

He froze.

Arthur was standing just a few feet away, his wine glass lifted halfway to his lips and his mouth gaping open, as if he'd seen something surprising just as he'd been about to take a sip. His eyes were glassy and the ridiculous expression on his face was one Merlin hadn't seen since he'd been enchanted with Vivian.

Arthur. Enchanted. With—

"Oh no." 

Merlin turned to Gwen for help, but she was smirking behind a napkin and already disappearing into the crowd. Arthur, on the other hand, staggered closer. 

"There's something about you tonight, Merlin," Arthur said, reaching for his face, smitten.

Merlin grabbed Arthur's hand before he made contact. "Nope, nothing new, I promise." He gave a nervous laugh. 

"No," Arthur insisted, cornering Merlin in the alcove Merlin had so carefully selected to be the location of Gwen and Leon's blossoming romance. "There is."

Now that Arthur was so close, Merlin could smell the herbs from his bathwater mixed with the heat of Arthur's own masculine scent, which was sometimes detectable when Merlin undressed him after a long hunt. Merlin had pretended to himself that the scent was unpleasant, something he'd had to endure as part and parcel of the duties of a manservant to his prince, but cast in the backdrop of the dimly lit hall with the delicate cadences of the piper's tunes, Merlin couldn't deny the heady effect it had on him. The truth—the truth that Merlin had fought so hard to deny—was his loyalty to Arthur was born of much more than that which usually binds a servant to his master. Merlin struggled to catch his breath.

"How have I never noticed before?" Arthur stroked Merlin's face. His lips, just inches away, parted.

Merlin, terrified he might swoon, leaned against the wall for support. He slid to one side, out of Arthur's reach. All at once, he understood Gwen's hesitation. In spite of how much he wanted Arthur to kiss him, he didn't want it to happen _like this_.

"Wait!" Merlin said, as Arthur lunged in for another attempt. "You don't know what you're doing." Merlin stood on his tip toes and reached up to grasp the damned mistletoe, flinging it as far from the both of them as he could manage. It landed squarely at Leon's feet, who glanced down at it and then back up at Percy in surprise.

"Merlin, you simpleton, why are you vandalising my castle?" Arthur asked. He hadn't moved away, but his voice sounded more like the chastising one Merlin was accustomed to hearing.

"There was something suspicious about that mistletoe," Merlin said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "It made you behave strangely."

Arthur laughed. "The only thing making me behave strangely," he said, pushing their bodies together, "is you."

"But I don't understand…" Merlin said. He peered over Arthur's shoulder to where Leon had resumed his conversation with Percy, the mistletoe still at his feet. They laughed, jovial and relaxed as befitting the festive occasion. Merlin knit his brows. "So it failed, my mag—"

"What _are_ you going on about?" Arthur scolded, lifting Merlin's chin. "But never mind—I'll stop your mouth."

Merlin had no more protests to make when Arthur brought their lips together in a kiss. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Arthur's strong shoulders and clung to him, the feeling of Arthur's lips sliding against his fulfilling a fantasy he'd never permitted himself to indulge. 

It hardly seemed appropriate for a prince to be so intimate with his manservant at such an important celebration, but Merlin had chosen his spot well, and no one seemed to notice them. Merlin narrowed his eyes and whispered a simple enchantment to obscure them from the rest of the guests. He prayed this spell, at least, would work.

Arthur bumped their foreheads together. "To the new year," he said in Merlin's ear.

"To the new year," Merlin agreed, and found Arthur's lips again.


	2. Switch & Trade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur tries to pay attention to his friends, but Merlin is so damn cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Holiday Bingo prompt, "Drunk".

When Merlin kicks his shoe under the table, Arthur nearly spills his pint all over the shirt he took such special care to wash. He knows it was Merlin who did it, too, by the mischievous expression on his face. He's so damn cute—Arthur's had a crush on Morgana's best friend all year—but with that ridiculous Santa hat on? Arthur might not make it out of the pub alive.

Arthur nods his head at Leon. He wants to listen, honestly he does, but he lost the thread of his mate's story a long time ago, and it's impossible to concentrate on remembering even his own name when he's this tipsy and Merlin looks like a delicious dessert to be savoured all night.

Gwen stands up to go to the loo. Morgana shifts two seats to the right so she can be closer to Elyan. Before Arthur knows what's happening Merlin scrambles out of his chair and lands on Leon's lap, throwing one arm around his neck and smiling down at Arthur. He bites his lip. Terrible tease.

"You're a lot heavier than you look, Merlin—ugh, get off."

Leon shoves Merlin, who laughs and lets himself collapse onto Arthur. Arthur collects his prize with greedy arms. Merlin is warm and smells of soap and Arthur doesn't ever want to let him go.

"Well hello," he says.

"Hello." Merlin settles both arms around Arthur's neck. "You've been watching me."

"You've been watching _me_ ," Arthur counters. He tugs the rim of the Santa hat down over Merlin's eyes.

"Hm," Merlin says with just a hint of a slur. He takes off the hat and plants it on Arthur's head instead. "'s'cause I like you."

"You do?"

"I do." Merlin leans down.

"Do you?" Arthur asks in a lower voice, angling his face up, closer, closer, until Merlin's face blurs.

"I do," Merlin whispers, and then he's nibbling on Arthur's bottom lip. Arthur lets his head drop back against the chair as he gets lost in the kiss. He runs his hands down Merlin's back and squeezes his waist.

The Santa hat falls to the floor.


	3. Ruminations: Three Shorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin daydreams about the winter with Arthur; Arthur imagines what it would be like to have Merlin; Gaius repents withholding the truth from Morgana. (Each short stands on its own.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Camelot Drabble.

Merlin touched his lips as he gathered the rowan berries the kitchen required for the evening's feast. The berries were an orange so deep they were almost red, and like the painted mouth of a courtesan in the castle's dimly lit halls, they shone a bright contrast to the late autumn greens and browns of the forest. He smiled to himself, absent-mindedly slipping a bitter berry into his mouth, only to spit it out again with a grunt of surprise. He shouldn't allow the memory of Arthur's kiss last night to distract him, but it had been so sweet, and hard won besides. The dead leaves crunched as he walked; a fallen tree branch snapped under his boots. After plundering his mouth, Arthur had whispered a promise in his ear: three months his bedfellow to warm him during the long winter. Merlin bit into another fruit, this time savoring its taste, and stepped out of the woods just as the snow began to fall.

* * *

Arthur took himself in hand.

There had been no misinterpreting the way Merlin had lingered preparing Arthur for bed that night, his long fingers unhooking his mail and unlacing his breeches, tugging his shift until it pulled free from his shoulders. The hungry look in his eyes when he asked _Can I do anything else for you, sire?_ In the last few weeks as Arthur awoke to the beauty of Merlin's hard angles, the curve of his soft lips, there blossomed a new and not entirely unpleasant tension between them. It was Merlin's duty to handle Arthur's body, to prepare his bed, dress him, bathe him, but his once confident touches grew cautious and restrained as if Merlin wanted more but held himself back, for he was only a servant, and while some nobles might take advantage of those below them, Arthur never had.

And he never would, Arthur promised himself, even as he imagined what it would feel like to push into Merlin's yielding body beneath his, and he spilled into his fist.

* * *

Every year he makes this pilgrimage. There's no one left to say the words to, so he speaks them on his knees to three who do not listen.

She had been young when the nightmares began. The sweat on her forehead, the fear in her eyes. He'd prescribed a mild sedative, that time and all that followed.

The years passed. Her hair thickened and her face matured until there came a day when she laughed with an innocent pleasure to tower over him so. She loved the forest and never worried she might tear the fragile material of her gowns on the brush or find herself in the clutches of bandits, and perhaps because she knew herself an outsider, she shared her wild tales with even common servants. She should be a queen, they said, shaking their heads. So brave. So kind.

Kings fell. Knights were slain. He should have told her what it meant all those years ago. He should have told her she wasn't alone.


	4. Mixed Tracks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur haunts the computer lab every night to see Merlin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the First Times, Last Times, That One Time prompt at Tavern Tales. Thank you ememmyem for betaing.

Arthur was always wired with anticipation before walking into the uni's computer lab. Although it was nearly empty at this late hour, Merlin was as usual huddled behind an enormous screen at the back corner, wearing headphones twice the size of his head. The smudged black eyeliner he wore never failed to send a jolt of longing straight to Arthur's heart.

Could he be blamed for rewiring his sleep cycle so he'd be in the lab when Merlin was? The boy was always too absorbed in whatever he was doing to ever notice him, and it wasn't like his flatmates were keeping tabs on his crushes. Arthur slid behind a computer at the opposite end of the room and unpacked a travel mug of tea, then booted up the video software he hated so much. If it wasn't for the excuse to see Merlin everyday, this history project would kill him.

Arthur, fancying himself covert as a spy, twisted in his seat to catch a glimpse of Merlin wielding his own mouse with a single-minded devotion, his face reflecting the blue light of the monitor. Merlin wasn't ordinary. Anything but. He was worshipped across campus without even trying, without even _wanting_ to be liked. It must be his no-bullshit, authentic, _I don't give a fuck_ attitude that drew everyone in: the late-night hangouts with the kitchen staff instead of going to parties, the anti-war speeches at campus protests, the kissing boys on the steps of the library for anyone to see.

Arthur swallowed. _Fuck_. He had no claims on Merlin, but he got jealous anyway whenever he thought about him with someone else — and unaccountably hot with a desire that would start in his stomach and spread over his body like a rash. How he longed to be one of those boys Merlin kissed so shamelessly in public. And how much more he wanted to be the _only_ boy Merlin took to his bed at night.

Reining in his imagination after daydreaming about Merlin was never an easy task, but Arthur refocused his attention on mixing the audio tracks for the clip. He was fumbling with the software controls when a frustrated curse slipped from his lips.

"Need help?" an amused voice asked from across the lab.

Arthur flushed, horrified Merlin had noticed how perfectly useless he was when it came to computers.

"I'll figure it out."

Merlin removed his overlarge headphones and rose, then wove his way through the aisles until he stood right next to Arthur. "You're blushing," he pointed out with a grin. "It's cute, but you don't have to be embarrassed. Took me the longest time to figure this out myself. Can I see?"

Arthur abandoned the keyboard and wheeled his chair back to make room for Merlin. "Guess I need all the help I can get." He managed to avoid sounding like a lovesick idiot as he explained the problem he was having.

"Hm," Merlin mused as he leaned across to grab the mouse. Things began to happen on screen with a dizzying speed, and it wasn't long before Merlin snatched the headphones from Arthur's head and put them on his own. Balancing himself at an awkward angle, he was so close Arthur could feel the heat coming off his body.

A long silence filled the lab while Merlin worked and Arthur gazed at the long lines of his back. 

At last when Merlin's arm began to shake with fatigue, Arthur half-rose to offer his chair, but Merlin just glanced over his shoulder and dropped his eyes to Arthur's lap.

"Do you mind? Just for a second. I'm almost done."

"No, of course not," Arthur stammered, but when he tried to get up, Merlin stopped him and lowered himself onto the edge of Arthur's knee, just enough to balance himself.

"Thanks, this is perfect." Merlin grinned.

That just made Arthur flush more. 

As Merlin worked he shifted back bit by bit, until finally Arthur had a lapful. Arthur wondered what he'd done to make Christmas come early this year, and he longed to wrap his arms around Merlin's lithe body and press his face into his soft jumper. He let his hand frame Merlin's thigh, light enough so it might almost be accidental, but when Merlin didn't shove him off, he settled it there and allowed himself to squeeze. This is what it would be like, Arthur thought, if they were boyfriends, and he didn't want the illusion to end.

"Ok, listen to this and tell me what you think," Merlin said with pride plain in his voice. He returned the headphones to Arthur's head at an awkward angle, and when Arthur adjusted them, their fingers brushed together.

Merlin hit play. The audio tracks were perfectly mixed, the music strong as the opening shot set the scene, and then quieting when the characters began to speak. At the climax of the dialogue, Merlin had overlain the original music with a complimentary piece that highlighted the tension in a way Arthur never would've thought of. It was brilliant.

"I love it," Arthur said honestly. He trailed his fingers up Merlin's spine. When the clip was finished Merlin twisted around and smiled. He was gorgeous with full red lips and soulful eyes framed in black, and Arthur wanted to thread his fingers in Merlin's thick hair and pull him down.

Merlin must've wanted the same, because he grabbed the sides of Arthur's face then and kissed him. It began gently with Merlin tasting Arthur's lips and pushing them apart, and then deepened into something raw that left Arthur gasping for breath.

Merlin nibbled along Arthur's jaw until he found his way to his earlobe and whispered, "It was worth spending every night in this shitty lab for that kiss."

Arthur regarded Merlin with confusion, his hands still caught up in Merlin's clothes. He thought back to the first time he'd come to the lab, and how his heart raced when Merlin had walked in the door. They'd both shown up in the lab every night after. 

"But I thought you loved this place. Why else do you think I come?"

"Why do you think _I_ come?" Merlin asked and poked him on the nose with a finger.

Arthur laughed. "Seems we're a pair of idiots," he said, not terribly bothered, and hugged Merlin tighter to him.

It was the last time either of them ever visited the computer lab, but it was the beginning of everything else.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Rowan, Oak, and Rue (the Ruminations remix) {art}](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10991769) by [altocello](https://archiveofourown.org/users/altocello/pseuds/altocello)




End file.
